Voters approve Pike Township Schools operating referendum

Voters Tuesday passed a Pike Township Schools operating referendum that would increase taxes to allow the district to sustain school programs and pay teachers competitively with nearly 60% of voters approving the change.

Live results: Watch 2024 Indiana primary election results roll in after polls close

Pike Township pursued an operating referendum for the first time ever, asking voters to approve a tax rate of 24 cents per every $100 of assessed property value. The referendum will last for eight years.

The bulk of the money will go to sustain programming made possible by the $36.9 million of Covid-19 relief dollars Pike received, most of which it has spent. School districts have until September to spend those funds or risk losing them.

District officials estimate the annual revenue from the referendum rate will be around $14.5 million.

Voters had strong opinions about the referendum Tuesday, with proponents of the measure wanting more support for public schools and opponents wanting to keep taxes lower.

“If they say they need more support, then I’m willing to help them,” said Kathy Koehler, 52.

Ryan McCroskey, 47, said he didn’t vote for the referendum because his children don’t attend Pike schools and he is worried about increasing his taxes.

“I just can’t really afford that much of a hike in my taxes,” McCroskey said.

Rev. Dr. Richard Curry Jr., a senior pastor of True Tried Missionary Baptist Church, was conflicted. While he, too, is worried about rising taxes, he ultimately opted to vote for more money for the sake of students.

“Especially when thinking about our African-American children, I think they deserve better schools and our teachers deserve to be paid more,” Curry said.

Greg Bowes, 64, said he voted for the Pike school referendum question even though he is hesitant to see more state dollars go to charter schools. He ultimately voted yes because, he said, at least the dollars weren’t going to private schools and would stay in public schools.

“At least charter schools have a little bit more oversight than the voucher schools do, which can basically do whatever they want, and it concerns me seeing money that should go to public schools going to the vouchers,” Bowes, a Pike Township resident, told IndyStar where he voted at Snacks Crossing Elementary School.

Pike officials say they will use the referendum dollars to support three main areas — funding staffing and programs made possible by pandemic relief dollars, teacher pay and school safety measures.

Pike went to voters with a referendum question last in 2010 when voters approved a $21.4 million capital referendum to fund construction projects.

If the new operating referendum passes, Pike would become the first school district in Marion County affected by a new law that requires school districts in Marion, St. Joseph, Vanderburgh and Lake Counties to share revenue from operating referendums with charter schools.

The law states that the dollars would follow any student living within Pike Township’s borders who attends a charter school, but Pike Superintendent Larry Young says it's hard to say at this point how much charters would receive. Charters could take as much as $400,000 of the referendum funds, he said.

Contact IndyStar reporter Caroline Beck at 317-618-5807 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter: @CarolineB_Indy.

Caroline’s reporting is made possible by Report for America and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. 

Report for America is a program of The GroundTruth Project, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening local newsrooms. Report for America provides funding for up to half of the reporter’s salary during their time with us, and IndyStar is fundraising the remainder. To learn more about how you can support IndyStar’s partnership with Report for America and to make a donation, visit indystar.com/RFA.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Voters approve Pike Township Schools operating referendum